


we're finally free

by DismantledSun



Series: Clem Blurbs [3]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:09:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7061896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DismantledSun/pseuds/DismantledSun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke wasn't thinking when he did it, he just acted. He just saw Michael, glowing with a similar happiness, the lights behind him making him look like an angel. Luke curled his hand behind Michael's neck and pulled him into a kiss, sweet and interrupted by smiles and wandering hands because they were in love and they were genuinely happy. They never thought anyone would see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we're finally free

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the prompt, Michael and Luke get caught kissing backstage by a fan, and shit goes down (either they get in trouble and it gets sad, or they get accepted) from [Emma](http://wastethemuke.tumblr.com)

It was their last show of the tour, their momentary zenith until they could fizzle away for a while – they were so close to a break, to relaxing hidden away with no mind of watchful eyes. They were riding the high of exhaustion and anticipation; they were so ready to put on the best show of their lives, and when they did, the high of excitement grew all the more.

Luke felt so filled with happiness, the aftermath of an amazing show mixing with the realization that he had months of uninterrupted time with Michael. The build up of elation made him happily rash – he wanted to do everything and experience life to the fullest if it meant he could feel that way all the time.

Luke wasn't thinking when he did it, he just acted. He just saw Michael, glowing with a similar happiness, the lights behind him making him look like an angel. Luke curled his hand behind Michael's neck and pulled him into a kiss, sweet and interrupted by smiles and wandering hands because they were in love and they were genuinely happy. They never thought anyone would see.

They kissed like the world faded away until nothing was left but them, floating together amongst the stars. It was quite possibly the happiest Luke had felt in a long while. He'd made it to the top of the world with the loveliest boyfriend he could have ever asked for at his side. Everything felt in place, just for a moment.

But a small gasp interrupted their quiet moment together, drawing them back to the reality around them. Their relationship shouldn't have been a surprise; the crew, the band, their management – everyone knew except the fans.

Luke saw Michael stare over his shoulder, face lax, but his fingers tightened around Luke's waist ever so slightly. Spinning, Luke looked after what caused Michael's reaction, his back flush to Michael's front. Once Luke saw, he stepped away from Michael immediately, hands clasped behind his back as though they had never touched Michael's.

The fan was young, eyes filled with a fragile innocence that was slowly crumbling away. Luke would have assumed they merely took the wrong door and were surprised by where they had ended up – it happened far often than Luke would have liked, but no one was to blame. The fan seemed naïve enough were it not for the phone poised carefully in their hand pointed directly at them.

A small noise of anguish left their throat before the fan turned on their toe and ran back out the way they came. Luke stared as the door began to close before sprinting after them, long legs serving well to close the distance between them. But the pathway led towards the main entrance of the arena, and the fan slipped into the crowd just as quickly as Luke was swarmed by another one.

Luke was well and truly fucked.

Once he managed to slip away from the throngs of people and backstage, he saw Michael pacing, hands trailing through his hair. The sound of the door falling shut gained Luke Michael's attention.

"Mikey," Luke said, voice already apologetic. "I couldn't–"

"It's okay."

"Mikey, I–"

"Shh, Luke," Michael whispered, walking over to where Luke was standing, hands smoothing around Luke's waist. He collapsed into Michael. "It'll be okay. You tried. We'll figure it out, yeah? We always do. And besides, we'd have to let 'em know eventually. This just helped speed up the process, is all."

Luke laughed softly into Michael's chest. "I guess you're right. We'll figure it out."

"See, you just need to believe in me," Michael laughed, prodding his fingers into Luke's sides before pushing his nose towards Luke's neck.

"Oh, I always believe in you, you shit."

"Good. You just need to have that faith a little longer."

"I will," Luke whispered, hugging Michael closer. He couldn't think that their world had fallen apart. Not yet. It was merely a paradigm shift he hadn't been prepared for. It still felt like he was floating in the stars with Michael. That wouldn't change.

"Hey guys, what's wrong?" Calum asked, footsteps getting louder until he stopped just next to where Luke was hugging Michael.

"Bad things," Luke said, not caring that his statement would be muffled by Michael's chest.

"What kind of bad things?" Calum said softly, voice sympathetic. He wrapped his arms around the two, joining their comforting embrace without question.

"A fan saw. We were kissing and a fan saw and we couldn't stop them from telling," Luke answered, voice rising as his emotions got the better of him. Michael's thumb slid in circles over his back, calming him down.

If a careless mistake ruined everything, Luke would surely break. Michael meant the world to Luke, and maybe even more than that. Luke wouldn't be able to live without him.

"We'll figure it out," Calum said, voice coming from somewhere above Luke's head. Luke was grateful for his support; it was one step closer to reassuring him that it would all work out in the end.

Another set of footsteps approached where the now three of them were hugging in the middle of the backstage set up. Unlike Calum, Luke thought that whoever was approaching was not nearly as in a cheerful mood.

"What the f– What happened with you three?" Ashton asked, sounding genuinely confused and surprised.

"Bad things," Calum offered, tightening his grip in their embrace. Luke laughed slightly at how Calum dragged himself down with his and Michael's disasters.

"What kind of– wait this might be the same as my news."

Luke disentangled himself from Calum and Michael's limbs immediately, stepping back to look at Ashton. "What news?"

"Twitter has been rather active, if you will. Some pictures have surfaced."

"Shit shit shit shit," Luke whispered, pacing just like he'd seen Michael doing before. He ran his hands through his limp hair. "It's such a mess!"

"Whoa, hey. Luke," Michael started, darting forward to catch Luke's hand and still him. "It's not a mess yet."

"But rumors, speculations, tests on the photos, stories," Luke rambled, not quite sure where he was going with his statements. "It's all gone to shit, and if we say it's nothing they won't believe us. There's no clean way out of this."

"Here, look," Ashton said, holding his phone up, open to Twitter. Luke leaned forward to see a dark and blurry photo of him and Michael pressed together backstage, Luke's head blocking Michael's. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah," Calum agreed, coming around to glance at Ashton's phone as well. "Honestly, wouldn't have known it was you guys if I hadn't been seeing that every day."

Luke laughed, hugging into Michael's side. "I suppose you're right. How are you not flipping shit, Mikey?"

"Fuck, trust me, I am," Michael said, but a smile filled his face. "But I know that if everything goes to shit we'd also be out. We'd be free."

But the path to freedom had a lot of stops along the way, and the one that affected Luke the most was the reaction. To hell with the paperwork, clauses, and endless meetings eating into his break, along with the necessity to maintain public distance with Michael until everything was sorted out. To hell with the time constraint as each day without a comment from the team just increased the rumors. Everything else paled in comparison to the increased amount of hate being sent his way.

Luke knew that with fame came a greater audience; he knew that not everyone would support him, his band, or his choices. It was a little disheartening to see so many people laugh at him – to be so snide. Granted, there were innumerable numbers of people talking about how happy they were, for the situation, for Luke. They called out the insensitivity of the fan, their support towards himself and Michael. Luke just had difficulties distracting himself from the hate. He was glad others were trying to help.

As he was struggling to see past the sometimes disastrous lack of support, his attention was spread to figuring everything out with John Feldmann and the others. It was meetings and conversations and phone calls at ungodly hours because time was short and tensions were high.

Luke didn't much care. He was content with letting things blow over and fizzle away so he could deal with them at a more leisurely pace. Marketing got in the way of that plan, though. It was all about sales and their reputation. Letting shit blow over didn't always suit the band well, and with a rumor as grand as this one, Luke figured it had to be set right as quickly as possible.

So Luke's break was interrupted by frequent cab trips through busy cities alone. Michael was always there to talk on the phone or text him or, hell, even FaceTime if Luke wanted. He just wanted it to all be right.

He knew the importance of carefully worded clauses approved by every lawyer, of fully understanding that every choice they made could have a repercussion on the band, he did. The band was fine with it though; even Calum and Ashton grew irked by how elaborate and meticulous everyone was being.

"Just have Luke tweet, 'Yeah, Michael and I do it in the butt #DealWithIt' and save this bullshit legal stuff for later," Calum had said, sitting in on one of Luke's meetings.

"Cal," Luke chided softly, although he wished it was that easy.

"What? It'll be easier on all our parts – on you and Michael."

Except it wasn't easy, and he and Michael spent too many nights cuddled together in bed with a movie playing, shut in by the city instead of lounging on beaches or exploring the world like they wanted to. Sometimes Luke thought it was okay though, the knowledge that they would soon be free almost liberating him. There would be no hiding whenever they were out in public. Luke was almost afraid, but in the best kind of way.

Michael would remind him with every kiss, every day steering him a little closer toward the door outside before muttering, "Soon, Lukey."

Soon came faster than Luke expected it to. Michael had started kissing him, soft and sweet, and Luke just laughed because it had become a daily tradition at that point. He fully anticipated being stopped at the door, turned around so his back was against the wood, but when Michael opened it, Luke pulled away with shock.

Looking back, Luke couldn't decide which was more breathtaking, the soft smile on Michael's face when he whispered, "We're free. We don't have to hide anymore," or the feeling of kissing Michael in open air, nothing preventing wandering eyes from making their way towards them.

After Michael whispered those few words, Luke pressed forward to kiss him, open mouthed and smiling. It was nice and sunny and Luke was really truly happy.

Michael later explained that articles and statements were released, representatives and Feldy alike offering their sentiments on the long overdue news. He decided to share the news with Luke in a more extravagant way.

Luke was happy though. He was happy that he could walk along the beach and hold Michael's hand. He could post pictures of them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook even because he wanted the world to see his happiness. Luke was happy that people could tell, every comment about him and Michael being together, of looking like they were glowing, made Luke glad that they were outed.

There were poor reactions, but that would've been the case for any major announcement. Luke found his happiness outweighed it all.

He was still nervous though; the end of their break fast approached and that meant greater publicity. Questions about everything they kept hidden were looming ever closer, as well as the eyes seeking how their interactions would change. If Luke was honest, he was scared. At least he would be able to hold Michael's hand through all of it.

Which is exactly what he did. Every interview, radio show, walk through the airport, Luke's hand was always entwined with Michael's. Even up until their first concert, Michael was curled into Luke's side, hand in his, just as dependent upon the support. Nerves and excitement mixed together.

"It seems like you two are inseparable nowadays," Ashton said, sitting next to them on the couch before cuddling into Luke's other side.

"Although they already were," Calum added, joining them on the couch. Luke was overheating what with his black skinny jeans and all the people on him, but he was happy.

"We are totally separable," Luke said, frown interrupted with slight laughter. He shuffled a bit towards Ashton. "See."

"Mmhm," Calum hummed, pushing Michael back towards Luke. "I believe you."

"Oh, whatever," Michael grumbled, sliding in closer to Luke despite Calum's shoving.

There was a peace in cuddling close together, nostalgia of the years prior mixed with the triumph that they've continued to make it. Luke was contented.

Until he had go on stage. At the five minute call time he was well prepared, at two minutes not so much. At sixty seconds, Luke had one hand gripping the frets of his guitar, the other holding desperately onto Michael's.

The intro played longer than it normally did, both of them tentatively walking out rather than running. Calum smiled softly as they stood in the center of the stage, neither quite ready to part.

The reaction was breathtaking. The cheering – the overwhelming noise – was astounding. So many people were cheering because they were together and open on stage for the first time.

Luke looked over to Michael, mouth agape with surprise, only to see Michael's face mirroring his own. Seeing Michael's expression dissolve into a smile, Luke was half tempted to kiss him there in front of everyone.

"We're finally free."

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea about the legalities of contracts and clauses...
> 
> Come hang out on [tumblr](http://petalmikey.tumblr.com) where if you send in a prompt it might make it here one day


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